


Braiding

by hatchin



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 16:01:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8851237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hatchin/pseuds/hatchin
Summary: Kougyoku doesn't have nearly enough time to rest, but when she does, it's spent in the best way possible. Alakou. One shot.





	

Time to one’s self had become a rare pleasure to Kougyoku, let alone time to do such fruitless tasks as messing with her own hair. There were hand maidens for that, they would tell her, but in all honesty, she found it relaxing. Feeling the soft tips of her fingers graze through the strands of her hair set a sort of mood that would make even the worst of days better. It left her incapable of noticing her own surroundings a good deal of the time she would indulge, and this would be no different.

As she weaved the elegant appendages through another large clump of hair, the edge of her index caught onto a snag in between two small strands. It caused her attention to fall downwards and onto the knot as well as a soft hiss from her smooth lips. Luckily enough for her, no one seemed to frequent the gardens at this time, let alone anyone that would mock her.

“Are you okay?”

The voice catches her off guard, and what had been such blissful silence among the flowers turned into awkwardness in a matter of seconds. Kougyoku turned to find the owner only for that sense of awkward to grow tenfold. There, just a mere foot or two in front of her, was Aladdin. How he had managed to get this close to her, let alone block out the sunlight with his leaning, without her noticing was marvelous. She’d blame the content entrancing feeling of her hair between her fingers, if asked, even if the truth had been a credit to Aladdin’s ability to sneak up on her.

She cleared her throat, turning to inch the space between them into something more suitable for their status. After all, what if someone were to see the two of them this close? There’d be rumors around the palace, and that, was something she didn’t need. In her fit of making everything proper, she’d completely forgotten to answer, nor make note of that small sparkle in his eyes as he carefully took her appearance in.

A huff was given, and soon enough she’s placing her hands respectably into her lap. “I’m perfectly fine. It was only a kno–What are you doing??” Before she even had a chance to react, she’s met with a sight she thought she’d never see. He’d taken a seat next to her, and seemingly without though, was twiddling with the ends of her unraveled hair. She stares, long and hard, waiting for an answer, but is greeted with nothing more than a smile at first.

“Oh, sorry. I guess I couldn’t help myself,” There’s that smile once again, and Kougyoku gets the strangest idea pop into her head. But that is improper for a lady such as herself to think, and without a second thought, she brushes it aside. Or so she thought.

Aladdin’s word become more like background at that point as her eyes train themselves onto his expression. It’s strange really. She’s never taken a good look at the assortment of faces she’d seen Aladdin have through the years, so why was she now? What was so different about today than any other day? It takes the call of her name to bring her back, and by then she can feel the top of her cheeks burning at being caught.

“Y..Yes?”

She’s studying his face again, watching as his eyebrows furrow in with concern just before giving a curious tilt of his head to the side.

“I was asking if it would be alright if I braided your hair,” A pause, simple and short. “Are you alright? Your face looks like a strawberry. Did you put too much make-up on again?”

She can’t tell if his concern is genuine or him teasing. Years of being tormented by Judal left her cautious of such things, but one thing is clear: That’s an insult, and one that needed retaliation. So, she does what she does best and puff her cheeks out at him, giving him the most infuriated stare she can muster.

“How rude, and coming from a little brat like you!”

But unlike Judal, there isn’t a rebuttal, not even the faintest of arguments. Only a soft laugh falling from his lips and that smile of his sent her way. It’s something Kougyoku’s found herself growing fond of. He leans in just a few inches closer, the look of want clear on his face.

“So…can I?”

This is where she thinks, a finger reaching up to tap her chin to iterate such thinking. She leaves him in silence to get back at him, watching as that smile dims by each ticking second. Just when it’s about to completely fade, her own flairs up and she tosses it his way.

“Fine, but I want something in return.”

“And that is?”

“I want the chance to braid yours as well.”

There it is again, in full force, and Kougyoku can feel the heat from his excitement bouncing off of him. “Deal!”

Before she even had time to react, she could feel his hands began to grasp at her hair gently, and in return, she would do the same to his. It was an awkward position at first, but as time went on, they had found the perfect placement - slightly tilted towards each other with only the slightest bit of contact with their thighs side by side. From there, she had access to his hair, as he did hers. She would never admit it, but this was actually rather enjoyable. The only hair she’d been allowed to toy with was her own and that of her dolls. To braid and fiddle with another human being’s was nice, to say the least. Nice enough to leave them both contently smiling in a comfortable silence. As time went on though, she felt boredom begin to rise.

And then as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning, an idea hit her. Both of their hair was long enough to almost match length, and while hers was a bit more voluminous than his, it would make no difference.

Once again, she cleared her throat, wanting to catch Aladdin’s attention just as he was weaving another braid. He looked up, eyes curious and expecting and Kougyoku could feel the heat begin to rise on her cheeks once again. Though this time, she won the battle in order to fight it back. There would be no more embarrassing blushes from her if she could help it.

“I have a proposal. Since…” Another clear of her throat as she tried to sound as formal as she could(which, in this sort of situation, and with a smiling, happy magi staring directly at you, was rather hard to convey). “Since we both have long hair, there’s something I’d like to try.”

Once again, he’s looking at her, waiting patiently for her to continue. She finds the words are stuck in the back of her throat the longer he stares, and it both infuriates and confuses her. “We could weave both of our hair into one braid – Together.”

The silence that follows that is short, but long enough for Kougyoku to think she’s said something wrong. But just like that, his face blossoms and it’s clear that he’s more than willing to agree.

“I think that’s a great idea. It’ll look really nice together, and to add to it…” He trailed off for just a moment, his hand reaching down to grasp a flower just by his thigh. “We can put these in too!”

The grin that accompanies his plan is met in full by her own, and it’s obvious that she’s finding it a great addition. She pulled her hair to the shoulder closest to Aladdin, letting the curls flow where they could and watching as the dark blue strands of the Magi’s soon began to mix with her own. It was a strange mix of color, yet not entirely unappealing. As she went to start the weaving, so did he, and for a moment, the tips of his fingers lightly grazed hers. This left her flustered, to say the least, and Aladdin with a confused stare as to just why her cheek were starting to look more like cherries than strawberries.

“I’ll braid, you put the flowers in.” She stated, and only got a nod in return. With each weave of red and blue hair, a flower was placed in between, and Kougyoku had to admit - they were working rather well together. He seemed to know just when to put the flower in, and only twice had she had to call him out on the placement. When everything was said and done, she looked at their handiwork with a large smile. Before her was a beautifully woven braid. Here and there, Aladdin’s blue would be more prominent, and vice versa. But her favorite part was when it mixed. A beautiful, almost violet color seemed to emerge from the connection, and Kougyoku found it stunning.

“It worked out perfectly,” She’s more than content with the results, and as such, lays her head back against the tree just a few inches behind them. Aladdin isn’t far behind considering they were connected by the lengths of their hairs, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

“It did. Your hair makes my hair feel soft.”

She scoffs then, a smirk lining the bottom of her lip. He catches it quickly, and almost regrets the compliment.

“Of course it does! I make sure my hair is the silkiest it can be! I’ve had more than a handful of handmaidens envy it,” Oh. Handmaidens. Jobs. Empress. The realization hit her hard, and as such, her shoulders slunk down. Soon enough she’d be back to work and this little enjoyable moment between the two of them would be over. Normally, she wouldn’t hesitate to end it. Her country needed her, and who was she to sit here and relax when there was plenty of work to be done.

But strangely enough…Kougyoku didn’t want to.

Something about the position they were in and the feeling of two seperate lengths braided together kept her from returning to her duties too fast. Still, it didn’t stop her from mentioning it.

“I should be getting back to work.” Her finger goes to unravel the braid unwillingly, but is stopped short of a hand encompassing hers gently. She looks up, just as surprised as he is by the gesture, but his is soon shook off by a warm smile that makes Kougyoku’s stomach flip.

“Just a little longer, okay? I haven’t had a chance to relax like this in a long time.”

Everything tells her to say no, but yet she stays, as does Aladdin’s hand, gently wrapped around hers. They sat there for what seemed like hours, and oddly enough, she found herself drifting off into a sleepy haze. Just before her head touches his shoulder for support, she feels an arm wrap around her shoulders. It warm and nice, she thinks, and comforting to fall asleep into. Before too long his own head falls onto hers, and there they would stay in their corner of the garden until a familiar snickering rang through and woke them both from bliss.

Yes, Kougyoku rarely had time to relax, but if there were more sessions like this, she might just make more.


End file.
